A Perspective On What May Come

As you of the world know, today has brought us our forty-fourth President. He has offered hope to millions of Americans, has appeared willing to work across party lines, and possibly has one of the most difficult challenges in history facing him.

He follows a man who, though successful in many areas, let America down in many ways. Former President Bush has guided us through the wars in Iraq and Afganistan in a capable manner, but has dissapointed the people in his approach to other issues like immigration and the economy. Much of what he had promised to do he never did, or simply did poorly. This is not to say that I'm surprised! As I have heard said, "Politicians rarely believe what they say, and are surprised when anyone else does." I think Bush has actually been one of our more honorable leaders, and do not believe that we made a mistake by electing him; however, what he promised and what he delivered left too much of a gap.

Enter Mr. Obama, the man of change. To be honest, he frightened me more than Senator Clinton during the election process. I have no doubt that much of what he said during his campaign was carefully worded to soften his agenda. He is not a moderate, and the fact that he presents himself as one does not encourage me. But as I watched his inauguration this morning, I found myself hoping that I will be proved wrong about him.

He addressed the threat of terrorism, telling our nation's enemies that he knows they're out there, and will not be cowed by them. [Me: huzzah!] He called upon God for his administration, both by choosing Warren and Lowery for the invocation and benediction, and by crediting Him as the source of our life and rights in his speech. He commented on our economic problems, our educational problems, and our environmental problems - his solutions may not be exactly what we of the conservative side want, but he has promised to do something about it.

He made a lot of promises. That really gets down to my main point: will he keep his promises? As a politician, he likely said some of those words simply to get votes. But another part of me thinks that he may actually keep his word. That, in itself, creates two reactions in me.

First, I am concerned that he will do all he has promised. Those changes will make the government larger and more powerful in many ways, limit freeom in the economy, and increase our tax bills. He will nationalize things that are privatized, such as health care. The environment will likely get more attention than the plight of unborn children. In short, America could be well on its way to becoming an actual socialist state.

My second reaction is this: I hope he will do all he has promised. America is in desperate need of a leader of integrity - a man who, to quote a great poet, "meant what he said, and said what he meant, [a man who is] faithful one hundred percent." We the people are sick and tired of men and women who tell us what we want to hear and have no intention of following through. If he keeps his word to the public, and proves himself just and honorable, then God will have a clearer way to work His will through our President.

Now, that's not to say that I do not hope for a shift in his ideals while he is in office... He is the man of change, isn't he?